this tornado loves you
by hyperphonic
Summary: XII. "Tenten," a nervous grin was the young woman's only response. "You're about as good a liar as you are a Waterbender." vignette collection/ratings may vary
1. I

**because**: nejiten has been my otp in the literal sense before i could even call myself an adolescent. (and it was damn time i started writing it.)

**notes**: for those unfamiliar with my style of formatting, this will primarily be a collection of vignettes and the occasional one shots. i expect the rating to stay around T, but my writing has an uncanny tendency to get... heated. so we'll see how that goes.

regarding this piece in particular- one of the things that fascinates me most about these two is the ease of their dynamic, and i wanted to catch how quiet and subtle their love is. (and also how neatly it fuses into sparring.)

**additionally**: should you like to see a specific scenario written out, i'm more than happy to take prompts on my tumblr, _hyperphonic._

**disclaimer**: all i own is coffee and a poor sense of humor.

* * *

Tenten thinks it's hilarious that they've found respite in each other. Two ninja, two whispers in the night with the blood of hundreds on their hands- find each other stealing kisses instead of secrets in the dark. And _it's nice_, she thinks, prepping a katana strike over her shoulder. Nice that the very man she spars against now will also be the one to run his fingers down her spine when twilight falls.

The strike falls short, palmed away by a head of chakra and bright eyes. The parry is unconventional, but one she's encountered many times before, so she's partially ready for the blow that follows. "Too slow!" Tenten exults, pulling a volley of shruiken from her sides as she lets momentum carry her into the air. On the ground beneath her, the barest hint of a smile flits across Neji's face before he dodges her attack and vanishes into the trees.

Later that same day, when the pair is bruised and sufficiently exhausted, Tenten turns to face her teammate (_lover, anchor_) in earnest. Calloused hands fall against his cheeks, lips pulling into a smile as fingers move up to pull away at the cloth he uses to hide his fate. "That parry is vicious," his arms reach forwards to pull her into his chest, lips pressing against her hair as she continues, "what if we fused it with a k-"

Her thought process is neatly derailed by the feeling of long fingers slipping under her loose training shirt, the thrum of chakra around her singing of _Byakugan_. (Vaguely, the kunoichi wonders if she'll ever get used to the feeling.) Beneath his gentle touch, what few tenketsu he'd managed to close were opening, chakra proudly blooming from the little bruises.

"Right." Her breath stutters, and the man before her smiles, unbound hair curtaining around them as he presses his branded forehead to her neck. "Right." He confirms, lips brushing against her pulse, and Tenten can hear the joy on his voice.


	2. II

**because**: neji hyuuga is a piece of shit that makes me feel things i didn't ever ask for.

* * *

Hyuuga Neji liked to think himself a fairly reasonable (nearly perfect) teammate. His skills were consistent, dependable and completely lethal; with his kekkei genkai he could benefit his team in ways others could not. While his disposition often clashed with that of the Beautiful Green Beast, that was negated by his perfect give and take with the female component of their team.

Which was another point on which he was clearly superior.

He was not like the loudmouth Uzumaki or that bastard of an Uchiha in his protection of Tenten; she was no bone to be guarded and growled over like a stray dog; she was more than that. She was cold steel and foggy mornings where his white eyes glowed in the flat light- tracking her confident strikes as they sparred. Tenten didn't _need_ his support, but _wanted_ it. (_And he was ever thankful that she wanted it_.)

Though, he thought, the same could be said of Sakura, it was the _men_ on her team who felt the drive to protect.

Regardless, he was better. He was better in that he'd never let her fall if he could help it. _He_ was the one who held her deceptively delicate hand after she'd killed her first man. _He_ was the one who'd zipped up the back of her too-short dress like armor before her first seduction mission. _He_ was the one who could make her tremble and gasp and forget any horrors their latest mission had incurred. He'd always been there to bolster and protect (when it was well and truly called for), and he knew he'd continue to be there- caught by calloused fingers and kisses against his curse seal.

And that, the young Hyuuga knew, made him a teammate far above any other.


	3. III

**because**: writing characters like neji in states of emotional vulnerability is my real live favorite.

**ps: **giselle thought i wouldn't make it to chapter three without posting smut. so hAH LOOKS LIKE I WON, DOESN'T IT?

**pps: **now that chapter three is officially posted, i probably will post smut. just sayin.

**ppps: **got a prompt? feel free to leave a review, or shoot it to my tumblr, _hyperphonic_

* * *

When Neji returns from his first solo ANBU mission Tenten is awake, sitting in their kitchen silently, a cooling mug of tea in her hands. It has been a month since they last saw one another; a month full of bloodshed and missions apart. The small girl hasn't changed at all, long legs drawn up and folded in her chair as she watches him.

He feels like he's insurmountably changed.

Tenten can see this, and rises to her feet, tea and late hour forgotten. As she begins to close the distance between them, "Neji," her voice is soft, and compels him to lean into her embrace as she draws near. Of their own accord his arms move, and mirror hers in twining around her waist. She smells of tea and the oil she uses to cure her blades, and for the first time since leaving the gates, Neji breathes. (_He had killed so many so quickly, and now he felt like his bloodstained hands weren't worthy of touching the woman before him_.)

Blood spattered porcelain is pulled away and Konoha's weapons Mistress delicately holds it behind him, warm eyes shining as she brings her free hand up to cup his face. "It was so violent," he croaks, watching keenly as her brows knit. They are shinobi, born and bred for the battlefield, and bloodshed was no stranger to them. But this, this was a different kind of violence. (_This was subterfuge and almost-genocide and he _knew_ what losing a father did to a child-_) "I know," she breathes back, fingers sliding down to undo his armor. Tenten too bears the mark on her arm, but she operates as an assassin, very rarely assigned to anything as brutal as- Neji blinks at her as his black plating falls away, joining a porcelain mask on the floor by the door. "Tenten," he begins brokenly, but she is already pulling at his bloody shirt, pale hands turning ruddy as the half-coagulated mark of his shame transfers. "Please," he tries again, searching desperately for the will to push her away.

But the simple fact is that he needs her.

Needs her to piece him back together like she's done time and again; needs her to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth as his shirt is thrown into the trash, baring his equally bloody chest. "C'mon," she murmurs, fingers threading into his own as she pulls them towards the stairs. "Let's get you cleaned up."

* * *

When he bleeds into consciousness, the first thing Neji notices is the way the sunlight is already waning, late afternoon gold going weak across the sheets. A glance at his hands shows skin scrubbed pink, buffed and clean until no blood hid beneath his nails or ground into the fine lines around his knuckles. In fact, all of him feels fresh, and he swallows thickly as the finer details of the night prior come clear. (_Lips against his cheek, calloused fingers scrubbing his hair as he sat in the shower, leaning heavily on her chest and staring at the tile_.) Tenten, he thinks, is the sun in his sky. And that thought is only proven further when he shuffles into the kitchen to find her sitting just as she had the night before.

"Hey there sleeping beauty," she smiles, rising to pour him a cup of tea. Her efforts though, are hindered by strong arms around her middle and dry lips against the back of her neck. "I love you," he rushes, and his arms twine tighter, earning a sigh from the brunette. "I love that you love me even when I come home covered in blood, and I love that you don't mind washing my hair and my hands and wherever I'm broken and-" She cuts him off by turning around and kissing him, calloused hands sliding into his hair to cradle the base of his skull. She smells like tea and oil again, and, judging by the lack of stained armor on the ground, that is because she's once again pieced him back together; erased the blood and hurt with her sunshine hands.

"I'll love you no matter how bloody you come home, Neji." Her voice is low, serious, and entirely reflected in her eyes.

Instead of responding with clumsy syllables, the dark man leans down to kiss her again.


	4. IV

**because**: let's be real- this would happen to these two.

**holy fuck**: this is rapidly turning into horrible cliches- if you want to avoid chuunin exam!arc stories, i suggest you send in prompts.

* * *

"This is all your fault," the subdued weapons mistress grumbles from the rim of her cup. "If you hadn't snarked off to Tsunande we wouldn't be here right now." A long kunai was driven into the table, tracing lacquered wood grain as Tenten fought the panic in her chest. "_We're_ going to die, we're _going_ to die," Neji raises one eyebrow and takes a sip from his own cup, unimpressed with his teammates antics. "I'm never going to get to crash Sakura's wedding or finish my new katana form, or kiss you in front of those stupid Chuunin girls because we are going to _die_."

Clearly upset, the kunoichi throws back the end of her sake and grants Neji a glare. "Tenten, I'm sure she had us in mind for the mission already." His dry wit certainly hadn't helped with her temper, but there was no doubt in his mind that they'd already been slated to the scroll. "Additionally," one pale hand pulled the decanter away from his lover (she was _not_ going to be anything other than pleasantly buzzed). "It pays well; and it can't possibly be worse than a drunk Lee."

Now it's Tenten's turn to be unimpressed, lips pulling into a grimace as she eyed the decanter. "Neji, did you _see_ the rate of success?" Cocking her head, Tenten reached for the wine again, shoulders rolling to let her top gap slightly. "The last Jounin assigned was almost killed and pulled out." Beneath the table long legs tangled against his own, causing his bound brow to furrow. "We're doubled up because the last three soloists to attempt this mission didn't make it." Her breath smelled faintly of alcohol, and Neji found himself swallowing dryly as the distance between them dwindled.

"We don't stand a chance," she purred, lips brushing his own as they leaned closer, breath mingling before- she snatched the decanter from his limp hand and grinned, flopping back into her seat. "Kakashi stopped by their training ground to help the poor man out of a trap and-" the sunny girl paused to take a swig straight from the decanter. "He said they were even worse than Team Seven."

She watches, eyebrows raised, as the Hyuuga goes pale. "_Fuck_," and he is reaching for the bottle, eyes wide and finally reflecting the fear in Tenten's. "We're _fucked._"

"Glad you agree with me_, Neji-Sensei._"


	5. V

**because**: there's something special about strong summer sun, and mornings where you're too sore to move. (even if you're sore bc you've been out killing people, and not cause you spent all day on a bike.)

**helloooo**: chances are, i'll update more frequently if you shoot me some prompts (or leave me some reviews, though that's neither here nor there), as half the battle for me is coming up with a premise that isn't cliched _or_ overdone. xx

* * *

Morning has always been Neji's favorite time of the day; all wrapped up in restless air and trees slowly glowing under the sun. He supposed it had something to do with watching the world wake up, and how simply that proved that his heart was still beating. After all, how could you appreciate the way the sheets turned gold over tangled legs if you were dead? (Maybe it also had something to do with the way Tenten refused to wear anything other than her bindings and his shirt- who knew?)

On this particular morning though, the Hyuuga was more asleep than alive as he sat heavily at Tenten's little table. On the counter across from him, nestled just where they'd left them among eggs and spices and the mess that came with cleaning, sat two porcelain masks, their clean faces triumphing Tenten's ability to function in the morning. (He wondered how she even managed to clean their masks, remove the trail of bloody clothes they'd left on their way to the bed _and _start breakfast, all before he'd even cracked an eye.)

For his part, he'd slept until nearly noon and then stumbled downstairs in little more than modesty required, kissed the weapons mistress's neck, and collapsed into a chair, sore muscles and colored bruises complaining all the way. (She'd gotten off easier, assigned to long range as per usual; the target hadn't even seen her, save for an unnatural flurry of steel.)

"You know," Neji began, dark brows drawing together at the way his voice came out in an almost-croak. "We _could_ be sick today."

From where he sat melting in the sun, the young Hyuuga had an excellent view when Tenten quarter turned, brown eyes inquisitive. "Are you suggesting what I think you are?" Rolling his eyes, the Jounin nods and focuses on a gash against the wood grain. (She was too bright in the sun; even now after loving her so long). Neji can practically _feel _her smile on him, and briefly, he wonders what weapon wrought the gash he now fingers. (It was probably a kunai or maybe a shruiken as she waited one late night for him or Lee)

He is snapped from his reverie by the familiar sound of a teacup being set upon the wood, "I think I burnt the eggs past edibility again," Tenten is smiling at him sheepishly, "but the tea is still good!"  
Messy brown hair curtains around her face to swing when she turns again; and even though Neji knows the tousled waves to be from mission-long buns and no shower last night, he still thinks she's beautiful.

(_Especially _when she drops a senbon and bends to pick it up, profanity spilling from pink lips.)

A light breeze plays through the open window upstairs, and Neji smiles when he can smell summer on the air (It's better than burned eggs and jasmine tea, at any rate). "But that doesn't matter anyways," his partner grins, senbon already back in her hair as she sits across from him, "because _we're_ sick."


	6. VI

**prompt**: "Tenten being the Dragon Lady"; which, i believe had a far more literal interpretation intended, but sometimes neji gets the better of me.

**notes**: this could be.. potentially hard to follow the first time through, and for that I apologize, but i think if you read it again (and look for symbolism) it'll clear up nicely.

**ayy girl**: writing for prompts is far more fun than writing cliche's i've already read ten different ways- so if you've got ideas, drop them in my ask on tumblr _hyperphonic, _or leave a review, it's all the same to me~

* * *

Neji had always scoffed at his uncle's tales of dragon women and oracle girls. After all, how could a delicate woman ever embody something as vast and powerful as a dragon of lore? It was inconceivable and starry eyed. In his world of black and white and people he needed to prove wrong, there was no time for dragon-girls and stories of triumph in the dark.

That was before he'd met Tenten.

A girl who danced with smoke dragons and demons alike, launching herself high into the air in a maelstrom of steel and scales and _power_ so raw it singed her clothes and fingertips. (_His carefully honed and meticulously controlled moves felt like a breeze next to her tornado of fire and steel_.)

The first time they sparred, Hiashi's stories of golden bright eyes and hoards of metal so vast no shinobi could retrieve it rung in his ears. Those dragons had always been hidden away in caves or abandoned military bases. But _here_ was one wrapped up in skin and bones and tinkling female laughter.

It was fascinating.

As they grew older, and Tenten's arsenal grew ever more expansive, the young Hyuuga began to work; slowly peeling away the steel tipped girl to find his dragon. Layers of hurt, fear and _always_ inferiority were pulled aside until he could look at her, run his fingers over her scales and press his lips against her in kisses so reverent he thought he might die. Tenten, for her part, had no clue why he always kissed her fingers so reverently, or why she'd catch him watching her as she trained, eyes bright as steel and smoke dragons wound around her. (She figured it had something to do with her aptitude for injury, or the tight training pants she'd recently adopted.

It was neither.

He loved her so much, loved her bright joy when he'd kiss her, or the way her eyes went dark if he touched her _right there_; but most of all, he loved the way her dragon would show, growing more and more insistent as their missions threatened more and war loomed on the dark horizon. (_And he realized that his moves were so controlled, so meticulous because if he lost control he'd surely destroy everything to touch his light._)

In the stories, shinobi had ridden their dragons into battle. But Neji.. Neji wanted to stand beside his, stand with their backs to the wind and their eyes focusing past all the violence to the reprise of victory.

Because men who fought with (fought _for_) dragons were men who lived to see the day.


	7. VII

**because:** i was recently informed that people would in fact, read domestic nejiten fluff.

**that being said: **i still broke down and added a bunch of generally unnecessary framework because i'm a high maintenance acress who can't handle not having framework (r.i.p me every time we do open scenes).

* * *

When Neji is seventeen, and his long ebony hair reaches down past the small of his back Team Gai is sent on a mission to Kusagakure. Their mission is simple: protect one Sakura Haruno as she makes to heal an ailing councilman struck by disease. Neji thinks it's all rather ridiculous, as their villages are allied, and shouldn't the medic be able to take care of herself? Tenten reminds him that though she's strong, her attention will be focused elsewhere, and "won't it be fun to see a new nin village?"

He doesn't buy it.

But Tenten's joy is infectious, and Neji finds himself standing less reluctantly than he would have expected beside the village gates one silent predawn morning. Said woman sits beside him, idly running an unnecessary whetstone against the edge of her katana. "Lee is late," she muses, freckled nose scrunching as an imperfection on the blade draws her focus. "Probably walking Sakura over," Neji almost groans, pale eyes following the hypnotic grind of her work. His teammate laughs, and the young branch member joins in before they settle back into a comfortable silence. That's how it's always been with them: warm silences and moments of proximity where Neji could swear their chakras mingle though they were standing a foot apart.

Sighing, the dark man lowered himself to the ground, shoulder brushing against Tenten's as she worked. "If Lee isn't here within ten minutes," he began, letting his eyes slide shut, "we are turning around and going back to bed." The whetstone pauses, quickly followed by the familiar sound of naked steel being sheathed. "It looks," his dragon girl murmurs, playfully bumping her shoulder against his "like it's a bit late for that."

This time Neji _does _groan as he cracks one eye open to see a familiar Green Beast striding down the street, pinkette in tow.

"Damn."

* * *

Sakura Haruno is the epitome of female enigma. Everything about her disorients Neji to the point that he finds himself drawing inwards and observing from a safe distance. Her smiles are sincere, and lack the steel edge he's grown accustomed to in Tenten's. Likewise the pink of her hair and the way her strides bounce with something so undeniably _feminine _send his eyebrows knitting indignantly. He's seen this woman crush mountains; it completely baffles him how she manages to look so unassuming off the battlefield.

With Tenten, he idly notes, there is never any doubt where her specialties stand.

* * *

They make camp as the sun begins to set, bathing the rapidly thinning forest in golds and reds. "At this pace," Sakura grins from behind a map, "we'll be there by tomorrow afternoon, no doubt." Neji gives a curt nod, and Tenten cranes her neck to peer at the convoluted lines across the paper.

Team Gai settles into their routine like clockwork, Lee, proclaiming youth and joy abundant, races into the trees to look for kindling, while the remaining pair begin to lay out bedrolls (Neji) and rig a trap system around the perimeter (Tenten). Sakura observes, a small smile playing across her lips as she ducks under one chakra wire to aide Lee.

"She's brilliant," Tenten nods sagely, stepping back to admire her work. The weapons mistress can remember her own gloriously short-lived foray into medic training, there's no point in denying that Sakura's success fills her with awe. "Aa," her partner agrees, Byakugan tracing the criss crossing of trap wires around them.

That is when the first kunai flies.

* * *

The attack is swift, carried out with brutal force and speed so impressive it requires even Lee to reign in his focus. By the time Neji's kaiten has colored the sky, Tenten's weapons lay on the ground like a corona around them and Sakura's fists lain waste to the bones of enemies and the surroundings alike maybe ten minutes have passed.

Maybe.

Their camp lies on the border between Fire and Grass, and as Tenten drops from the sky to land beside Neji, her voice rings clear. "Nukenin." One sandal clad foot nudges an abandoned hitai-ate cut off by one kaiten deflected senbon. "Must've thought we were sent here for them." Neji nods and retrieves the token, "we'll notify the Kage upon arrival."

Byakugan eyes scan the surroundings one final time before deeming their camp safe, and then, as quickly as it had come, the threat passes.

Sakura watches with wide eyes as the Hyuuga prodigy turns to his female teammate and inclines his head slightly, a small smile tilting thin lips. Tenten responds with a peal of laughter and a light shove against the dark nin's chest, fingers quick to summon her weapons back into their scrolls as Neji watches. Neither of them notice Konoha's best medic grinning, and Lee has already set about finishing the camp's preparation.

It's a tender moment the pinkette feels maybe she shouldn't have witnessed, regardless of how welcome the warm feeling it elicits in her chest is. "Lee," she calls, and the beautiful green beast is quick to come, "Where's the kindling?"

* * *

When they enter Kusagakure, Neji feels a little like he's back in the Forest of Death. The forest has grown around and into the city to the point that even his keen eyes can't detect a single ray of sun breaking through the canopy. Lee bounces from tree to oversized tree like a Genin on his first mission, and Sakura lets her awe spread across her face like Tenten's grin. Their lodgings are located high up in the boughs of a tree not unlike those found around Konoha. The nin that leads them there is a Jonin of average height, who wears Kusagakure's hitai-ate proudly around his tattooed neck. "Feel free to leave anything you need to here, our leader won't keep you long." Sakura offers a smile as she gratefully sheds her pack, noting the silence with which Team Gai carries out the act.

It seems that, with the exception of Lee (who is too busy admiring the city to speak), Gai's students didn't particularly emulate their master's chatty nature. Neji watches their guide with steady eyes, and Tenten bounces between watching their surroundings and smiling fondly at Lee. They're all observing, mapping out the territory and shinobi alike with a kind of synchronicity Sakura's never quite seen before.

* * *

The meeting with the Kage goes as quickly as promised, and by the time Sakura suspects the sun to be setting outside, Team Gai plus her is situated in their lodgings. "I'd like to begin work on the councilman as soon as possible," she states as they sit together around the dining room table. "His condition isn't serious, but it would be best to expedite the process as much as possible."

Neji nods wisely, and Tenten jerks her chin once, tawny eyes focused on the true edge of her katana. "I would be most honored to escort you, Sakura-san!" Lee offers as he stands to clear their cups, empty save for the dregs of over brewed tea (Tenten had gotten to the pot before Neji could).

* * *

As the councilman recuperates from her first round of healing, Sakura and Lee return to their modest apartment. The scene they stumble into is one the pinkette hadn't ever even begun to imagine. Neji stands with his hands on the kitchen counter, brows knit as Tenten struggles to undo the tie in his long, almost-black hair. "Neji-kun, Tenten-chan! What youthful act are we engaging in?" Lee jubilantly cries, already running into the kitchen to participate. Tenten ignores the green beast in favor of bracing one elbow against her partners bare back to rummage about for a kunai. "_Tenten_," said partner growls, turning his face to glare at his teammate, "is cutting my hair."

Sakura turns her inquisitive gaze on the brunette. "His hair got nicked by a kunai or something," she explains, cutting the elastic deftly. Long tresses cascade around Neji's shoulders, and true to her word, there is a distinctly uneven angle to the fall. "I must have spun into my kaiten a bit late." The Hyuuga provides, one hand coming up to push a stray lock of hair over his shoulder.

Tenten's hands slide from his back up and into his hair to comb long fingers through the mangled tresses. Neji lets his eyes slide shut as her breath fans out against his back, "it looks like we're going to have to take off about three inches," Konoha's weapons mistress sighs. "That's _only_ about an inch and a half more than we usually trim off though," she continues, heedless of the audience they've acquired. "Aa."

Sakura smiles as broad shoulders relax under Tenten's touch. "But I'll need to take off your hitai-ate to be sure." Neji leans into her touch as calloused fingers loosen the knot at his nape. "You wear this so tight," she teases against his ear, lips brushing his skin as she speaks. Sakura once again feels as if she shouldn't be witnessing such a tender moment. But Tenten shows no qualms against them being there, and Lee no signs of moving. "Alright," she smiles, brushing her fingers through the hair displaced by the headband. "D'you want me to trim the stuff around your face while I'm here?"

Neji breathes, trying his damnedest not to fall asleep right there. Tenten's hands are warm and gentle against his scalp, fingers massaging at his temples as she waits for his answer. "Yes, please." He manages, another sigh escaping him as Tenten's fingers migrate towards the back of his skull. "Sounds good," he can just picture the smile on her face. "Tilt your chin up." He does as he's bidden, and cracks his eyes open just in time to watch Tenten expertly take the first stroke.

* * *

By the time Tenten's started to even out the layers at his back, the apartment has settled into a warm kind of silence. Lee, finished stretching, is asleep on the floor, and Sakura sits at the table, medical text in hand. "Okay," Tenten nods, setting her kunai down to finger the ends of Neji's hair one more time. "You're all done." Sakura looks up as he turns, palms reaching out to curl around the brunette's hips. "Thanks," Neji rumbles, lips pulling into a smile as his weapons mistress runs her fingers over the seal across his forehead in response.

This time, Sakura _knows _she wasn't meant to see that moment, and turns back to her book with a soft smile. There are some relationships that belong in the cloistered warmth of Kusagakure apartments, and the silent dojo's of the Hyuuga household. She turns a page and almost sighs to herself; there are some relationships too precious to see the light of day.


	8. VIII

**what are this: **i am completely floored by the reaction to the last chapter? thank you all so, so much. i haven't had time to reply to reviews or anything, but the tags on tumblr and kind words left here have brightened my day in a very big way. leT ME LOVE YOU ALL.

* * *

Winter in Konoha is more rain than anything. The clouds settle deep in the gaps between trees and blanket the sky with their grey. Flat light washes the bustling nin village and seems almost to take down the omnipresent hum in the streets. As far as Neji is concerned, the whole ordeal makes his home far, far more bearable. Especially so because in the winter missions slowed down a little, and left warm, quiet spaces in the day.

Warm, quiet spaces like the one he and Tenten currently occupied, curled up together on her modest bed sharpening kunai. "Jesus, Neji," the kunoichi sighed, "when _was _the last time you sharpened these?" The pale eyed man spared a glance for the dull, slightly tarnished blade in his lover's hands and shrugged. "I don't really use them that often." He said by way of explanation, dropping his chin onto her shoulder to better watch nimble fingers run an oiled rag over the steel. He could practically hear Tenten's eyes rolling as she set down the oiled kunai in favor of an un-serviced one. "That's no excuse," the rag began to move again, tracing hard steel not unlike it's wielder's fingers had stroked his bare chest an hour ago. "Your life might depend on these blades someday." Neji turned his head to press a kiss against her neck. "So they can't be neglected," her voice faltered, and Neji grinned unabashedly as his dragon girl paused to wet her lips.

"Don't distract me," the Hyuuga blinked, unsure of how he'd gone from curled around the kunoichi to pinned beneath her, but he did know that her weight against his hips was a welcome break. Amber eyes bored seriously into his own, and the blade against his neck pulled minutely away. "I'm serious, Neji." Two warm, calloused hands came to cup his face, kunai placed haphazardly beside it's mate. "A well cared for kunai could be the difference between life and death."

Outside the heavy sky beings to let loose with a soft drizzle, and Neji can't quite breathe for the warm feeling in his chest. "I know," one palm comes up to cradle the nape of her neck. "I know." Tenten's eyes soften as he speaks, what little tension had built dissipating instantly like a genjutsu released. "Good," her lips tilt up before she's leaning down (_downdowndown_) loose hair curtaining around them. Neji meets her halfway, and together they sink back into the sheets, mismanaged kunai forgotten in favor of slow kisses.

Winter in Konoha is more time spent being human than anything. When the too strong sun is blanketed by clouds, mission request slow to a trickle so slow that shinobi are allowed to _breathe_. To breathe and live and, in Neji and Tenten's case, love.


	9. IX

**honestly: **i'm not sure how long this whole daily posting thing is going to last, but damn, let's ride the train while we can.

**for what it's worth: **this piece is (like borealis before it) is heavily influenced by the album _vespertine_. if you've any interest in what i was drawing from while writing this vignette, check out the track _cocoon._

**ps: **thank you all so, so much for the incredibly kind reviews. i'm training 14-18 hours a week and also doing the whole college thing, so time to respond is hard to come by, but please know that your words mean the world to me. it's an honor to have such kind, thoughtful people read my work, let alone leave a piece of their mind. y'all are gems. xx

* * *

"Really, Tenten." Neji breathed as they sat together on the floor of the bathroom. "You've got to be more careful." Muscled shoulders (made strong by sword wielding and close combat) rose and fell in a non-committal shrug, and the brunette tossed her head. "I did what was necessary." The Hyuuga huffed, darting his gaze away from the sharp brown eyes boring into his own. "You're alive, aren't you?"

She wasn't wrong; his heart _was_ beating steadily in counter time to her own. And the slow expansion of her ribs was proof that, though she'd come perilously close to laying down her arms, she was still by his side. But still, he thought as too sterile hands wrapped gauze around his lover's abdomen, it wasn't worth her blood.

Tenten rolled her shoulders back, and made to lean her head against the cool edge of the counter. "Plus I knew they weren't fighting with any kind of poison," he could _feel_ her desire to slump, and knew that the only thing keeping her from doing so was his work. "And that my trajectory would most likely render the hit nonlethal." Her chest heaved with a frustrated breath, and the young ANBU captain felt his heart melt (he'd always been shit at staying angry with her). Desperately, Neji wanted to point out that she might have been wrong, that he could be sitting on this cold bathroom floor alone, head between knees.

But he wasn't. Tenten was sat right in front of him, shirt in her lap, breathing shallowly (but still breathing) as he tucked the end of the gauze in. "I'm glad." He murmured, letting _tenketsu_ closing fingers fall to carefully curl around her hips. "That you're not dead?" His teammate asked dryly, sharp stare focused on the caulking that bubbled up from where the counter met the wall. "That _you're _not dead." Neji corrected, leaning in to ghost his lips over one freckled cheekbone.

The weapons mistress sighed, and a slow smile spread as the adrenaline began to drain from her body. "Oh sure," she teased, reaching one calloused hand up to cradle the nape of his neck. Satisfied with the bandages around her stomach and the slow relaxation of her muscles, Neji tugged on her hips. "Let's sleep," they'd a few days off before their squad was called again, and the young Branch member meant to take full advantage of the reprieve. "Yeah," Tenten sighed, and allowed him to pull her into strong arms.

The walk from the bathroom to the adjoined bedroom was quick, leaving little time for his dragon girl to drift off against his chest. "I'm glad too," she breathed, barely audible over their mingled heartbeats, "that you're alive." Neji smiled, and lowered them onto the mattress, careful to move porcelain masks onto the bedside table before lying down in full.

His lover's breath had already evened out with sleep, and soon his own would follow, soothed by the promise of quiet mornings and hot tea together.


	10. X

**sweet jesus: **i keep getting lost on papabay's blog and just not handling my emotions well so here have some introspective neji on love and broken noses (i'm going to go lay on the floor and weep bc it's two am and i have four hours of training tomorrow).

**no seriously: **papabay's blog is a really big deal, if you've not checked out their art i am all about that life.

* * *

Contrary to popular belief (and the wild hopes of many a Sasuke fanatic) it was _not _Tenten who fell for Neji. In fact that was about as far from the truth as could be, as upon meeting the young Hyuuga prodigy one quarter into their academy career, the brunette kunoichi had promptly broken his nose .

"Men and women are completely equal on the battlefield." The young girl championed by way of excuse, hands on her hips as she studied the boy bleeding in front of her. Neji glared, pale eyes narrowed as he clutched at his nose. "You just punched me." He responded, eloquently.

"Yep." The soon-to-be weapons mistress nodded, looking unrepentant. "You deserved it."

And then, with a crooked grin and a lazy wave of one kunai bearing hand (_when had she pulled that out?_) Tenten strode away, leaving Neji bleeding amongst a sea of concerned females.

After that, there was no doubt in Neji's mind that she was special. Where the other kunoichi of their class were soft, she was hard, and where they fell into feminine curves and tinkling laughs she was all sharp angles and razorblade smiles. The young Hyuuga didn't really claim to know what love felt like, but he thought maybe it was the rush in his chest every time they sparred.

Tenten, for her part, really only noticed that the pale eyed boy was perhaps just a little bit less of a prick than he was at first.

By the time graduation had come, the prospect of team selection looming right behind it, Neji was hellbent on sharing a team with her. "It's unlikely though," he sighed to himself the night before the fateful day, lying restless atop starched white sheets. He was the top rookie and she hi close second, there was no way for their scores to balance out onto a team.

But still, the young prodigy sighed, stranger things had happened.

* * *

Upon the formation of Team Gai, Neji was able to completely confirm that the rushing in his chest was some strong form of affection. Every morning was spent training as a trio, and each afternoon they split into pairs. Lee and Gai would move to one end of the training grounds and Neji and Tenten another. It had been as natural as breathing, to train with her (neither of them were _quite_ ready for spandex and proclamations of youth), and the boy prodigy found his strikes came faster without the weight of hatred attached to them.

"Don't go easy on me," Tenten warned their first day, hands darting about as she absently juggled her scrolls. "We're as good as equals, remember?"

His nose throbbed with the memory of past pain, and Neji gave a curt nod before charging.

* * *

After their first Chuunin exams, when his hair is several inches shorter, and his torso aches with fresh scar tissue, Neji finally finds the nerve to tell her how he feels. "I don't hate you." He croaked from his spot on the hospital cot, pale eyes trained resolutely on the ceiling.

"Well I'd certainly hope not," his female teammate laughed, leaning tanned forearms against the stiff mattress (_he did his best not to let her know he'd seen the tear tracks on her cheeks). _"You spend an awful lot of time training with me for that."

The dark boy grinned, and felt his shoulders sink a little into the sheets. _It was a start._

* * *

By the time they'd turned fifteen, and Tenten's fingers curled confidently around the hilt of her (hand forged) katana, Neji could hardly control the gallop of his heart around her. She haunted his dreams and cast a light so bright over his waking hours that she burned against his retinas with every blink. "I think I love you." He shrugged one August afternoon, chest heaving as the pair lay out on the sun baked earth of their favorite training ground. "Yeah?" Tenten replied, turning her head to peer at him through sweaty bangs. "Yeah," he nodded, matching the gesture just in time to catch her grin.

"Alright," one calloused hand lightly smacked his (sore) abdomen, "let's get soba then."

Neji wasn't one to pay _too _much attention to his heart, but the swell in his chest as they set off together towards the village was impossible to ignore.

* * *

Like training together, _being_ together was as natural as breathing for the two. Sparring sessions ended in tender kisses, and after missions they held one another up as tired feet stumbled into their shared apartment. It was simple, like the mesh of their lips or the way their chakras mingled as they slept, and Neji loved every second of it. Loved it when her fingers fisted in his hair, loved it when his name fell from her lips in time with his thrusts, loved it when she fell sick and spent entire days with her (runny) nose hidden against his neck.

Theirs was a love full of kisses against his curse seal and warm, calloused hands pulling close (_close close close_) and away from the dark.


	11. XI

**because: **the shift from friends to lovers is a wonderful thing

**ps: **i hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving, and that the winter is treating you kindly. xx

* * *

The morning after their first night together, Neji wakes first; he is surrounded by mussed sheets, weak morning light and the expanse of Tenten's bare skin. The young Hyuga takes a deep breath and flops back into the pillows, chest feeling incredibly full. Things have changed for the better between them, of this he is sure. Neji gives a small smile, and tries to imagine what his twelve-year-old self would have thought of his current situation. The sun grows a little stronger in the sky, and Tenten lets out a soft sound of feminine discontent before curling closer to him. There's no doubt in his mind that his younger self would have scoffed, and tilted his chin up at the thought of _loving _his _teammate_. After all, he was a creature bound by fate and a life of bloodshed. What place could love possibly have in that?

Age had made him wise (or at least a little closer to it than he'd been before).

Outside Konoha begins to wake, and through the open window to his right the cheerful murmur pours into the room. Tenten's apartment is a few stories up in the heart of the city, blocks and blocks away from sterile compounds and the smooth dojo floors of his youth. He wonders if after this she'll let him officially move in with her. The gap from best friends to lovers had clearly been bridged, and it wasn't as if half of the population didn't already consider them a pair (_people were talking_). The hand not tucked into his lover's waist dangled off the edge of the bed, and Neji curled his fingers into a tight fist as he grinned in earnest (_now they had a reason to_).

"G'morning,"

Hoarse from their escapades the night prior, and muffled by the skin of his neck, Tenten's voice sends a welcome thrill of male pride through Neji. Calloused hands slink up his chest, and with a soft sigh, Tenten rolls to prop herself up on tanned forearms. Neji only responds with a lazy grin as she blinks, chestnut hair sticking up in all directions as it falls over one shoulder. The street chatter hums happily in the background, and Konoha's weapons mistress leans down to press a kiss against his (unbound) curse seal.

"I'll suppose you want to move in now," she teases, and the hand still on her waist curls tighter. "I've wanted to since before we were.." he trails off to gesture at their tangled legs. Tenten grins, and leans close to kiss him, this time against bruised lips. "Well," they pull apart, and Neji moves his hand to trace the dip of her spine. "My kitchen certainly would get more use." The pale eyed man grins before letting his eyes slide shut as she moves her hands into his hair.

There's no need for words like _I love you, _not when they're laying together in the summer sun, bathed in shared victories and the scars from missions gone wrong (it's hanging in the air even thicker than their laughter). Not here, with her forehead pressed against his, and their noses nearly touching as they grin. Being together is like breathing, locked in the rise and fall of their chests. They've always been together, Neji muses, now they just wear less clothes (_it's always been them, two best friends together in this world alone_).

"People will talk," Tenten laughs as he rolls them over to press her into the mattress. "They've always talked," he grins back, and the slide of rough palms down his back is enough to send his heart racing. Slightly chapped lips trace his jaw line, and the Hyuga prodigy wraps strong arms around her shoulders, dark hair curtaining around them to filter out the sun.

"I'm glad," she sighs, as he laves reverent kisses against her throat, "that they're finally right." Neji presses his nose into the crook of her neck and nods, unwilling to mar the moment with overly clunky words (Tenten understands the hot sweep of his breath all the same).


	12. XII

**honestly: **if i were to admit how long this prompt had been sitting in my ask you'd all be lowkey disgusted with me.

**for: **giselle, sorry i'm an asshole who literally took a year to write you a vignette.

**prompt: **"LAST AIRBENDER AU: NEJITEN" (eloquent, that).

* * *

"_You_ had _sex_ with your Airbending master?"

An eerie silence fell across the fire as Tenten stared at the svelte blonde. "Well, when you put it that way.." The brunette evaded, absently molding a chunk of granite into the shape of a badgermole. "No," the Firebender insisted, slamming her palms down atop tanned knees (their campfire gave a wild blaze in response). "Tenten, you're supposed to learn from your masters, not sleep with them!" Brown eyes widened and the granite was forgotten in favor of throwing calloused hands into the air. "Well, _excuse_ me Princess!" Tenten flopped back onto the packed dirt, warmed by Ino's fire. "It wasn't my fault!"

"Oh, yeah." The blonde replied with a dramatic roll of coal-traced eyes. "Because Neji the stoic Airbender is _totally_ a master of seduction." Tenten groaned, still sprawled across the ground, and her mentor continued, "_honestly_, if you're going to lie you should at least have the dignity to be good at it." One fine-boned hand was raised up, and the Fire Nation woman turned her critical eyes onto once manicured fingers. "I'm not condemning you for it." Ino set her hand down in favor of leaning over the flames to peer at her pupil, "he's a hell of a catch." Said pupil flopped onto her stomach to indignantly reach for the abandoned granite chunk.

"Dare I ask," a new voice interrupted, "_who _is a hell of a catch?" Tenten's eyes shot up to meet the unsettlingly pale pair of one Neji Hyuga. "Ahhhhh," she leapt up to her feet, backpedaling the second she realized how close they were standing. "Ino was just talking about.." The bastard was _smirking! _"How lucky Sakura was to snag Sasu-"

Neji stared at her, face deadpan as he cut her off. "Tenten," a nervous grin was the young woman's only response. "You're about as good a liar as you are a Waterbender."

The Avatar wrinkled her nose, fists clenching and unclenching as she glared at the (maddeningly attractive) Airbending prodigy. "Yeah well," the granite in her fist had taken on an alarmingly bludgeon-esque look. "I don't even _have _a Waterbending master yet you jerk!"

"Wow," Ino piped up, looking supremely unimpressed, "that was the weakest comeback I've ever heard." Tenten flipped her off. "Do I need to teach you how to do that too?" The Earthbender-turned-Avatar turned to growl, already thinking up several ways to irreparably damage the blonde's long hair when a cool hand on her shoulder gave pause. "Tenten," the palm slid down to tug her back into a sitting position. "If you lob her hair off she won't continue to teach you," Neji murmured against her ear.

Tenten gave a thick swallow as he pulled away before nodding sharply. "Right, saving the world and all that." The man beside her grinned (or got as close to it as he ever did), "and all that."


End file.
